Hi all,
My travels through Asia are like a rollercoaster. And with not already having the most logic travel route it got even more strange. I suspended my travels for almost three weeks to go back to the Netherlands for the funeral of my grandmother who passed away while I was in Cambodia. This was not the most easy period. Thanks to all family and friends I had a really good time in my home country! Thank you all for the support. Below you find my delayed blog post about my time in Cambodia.
Back to home
The days in the Efteling, Delft, The Hague, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht, and Rotterdam were absolutely lovely. Ohhh, I am going to miss you all, but not the weather 😉
My flight from Amsterdam arrived in Bangkok from where I’ll leave to Myanmar first. After coming back to Bangkok a new visit to Cambodia and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are on the agenda.
Cambodia for sale… oh no, sold out!
When I crossed the border to Cambodia I couldn’t wait to get to Kratie. Here I was going to see the incredible Irriwaddy Dolphins. My impatience and bicycle ride of 2 hours got rewarded. I saw them from really close; playing and showing their curiousity. You can read more about the Irriwaddy dolphins in my Ecopod news letter.
Kratie is not a real tourist destination, but its surroundings and the sunset on The Mekong River are impressive. On the island near this town I found the Mekong Wagtail (Motacilla samveasnae), a rare bird species. Also I was extremely lucky to see a small Mekong swamp turtle. This turtle is endangered and is now even protected by the monks on the island. It took me only a day cycling on the island, in the challenging heat of the sun and slippery mud trails. How rewarding can it be more?
Different things in different cities, but Phnom Penh was the place to get confronted with the awful terrors of the Khmer Rouge. The S-21 Tuol Sleng prison is one of the most notorious prisons. Here people were, interrogated, tortured, and even killed. According to the photos of all victims it must have been hundreds and hundreds on day. Situated in the middle of a residential quarter made me think how in earth this was all possible.